Customer Reviews
Good special effect, poor story. - By: Master1, 23 Jun 2008 
Great special effects, but not a very good story, looks like it was trying to prop up the poor storyline with the special effets & the actors.
In all a disappointing movie.
What's it all about, then? - By: Tempestas, 11 Jun 2008 I came to The Golden Compass without any expectations, having never read any of Philip Pullman's books. And what did I get? A visually beautiful film (hence the three stars) but one that is fundamentally unsatisfying.
I'm aware that Pullman is immensely popular & his books have been analysed both philosophically & scientifically, so there must be more to them than is apparent here.
The film poses far too many unanswered questions. It was not clear what the "daemons" represented (free will? conscience? Not a literal "soul", surely.....Pullamn is reputedly an atheist) or why it should be considered necessary to separate the children from them. What was the agenda behind the Magisterium's plans? Their world seemed pretty pleasant to me! And how did Daniel Craig's character escape? One minute he's surrounded & outnumbered, the next he's shown holed up somewhere remote, experimentingin a laboratory. We're told "he escaped", but that's really sloppy scripting. Why is Lyra so special, & why does Mrs Coulter behave as she does? What, exactly, is the point of the whole story? Why should we care?
The film (obviouslyin full expectation of a sequel) finishes virtuallyin mid-story. Very annoying. I'm not surprised that most Pullman fans seem disappointed with the whole thing. This non-Pullman-fan, expecting something with depth & imagination, was disappointed too
Great Movie! - By: K C, 09 Jun 2008 
Just want to share that "The Golden Compass" is one of my favorite movie. I can watch it over & over again & never be bored with it. It's filled with adventure 'till the end. Take a look at it & you will see for yourself.
Heading the right way - By: Big Al, 08 Jun 2008 
Well, I haven't read the trilogy on the which this film is based so, I wentin with an open mind.
I have to say I enjoyed it. I found it a very easy way to fill 2 hours. Overall, I thought the casting was excellent - apart from Nicole Kidman who, to me, seems to demonstrate once again how she graduated from the Plank school of acting.
I got a bit confused about Daniel Craig's disappearance early on until I was reminded - "this is a trilogy"
I particularly liked the daemons. A nice touch. As was the intriguing mix of technologiesin this fantasy world. Flying on what appear to a sophisticated type of airship but, using sailing ships??
OK - the set piece action scenes weren't exactly Lord of the Rings. However, nothing could compare with the siege of Minas Tirith or the magnificent charge of the Rohirrim. However, I think the film did pretty well - especially the fight between the armoured bears!
Allin all, I considered it to be a generally well acted, well written & enjoyable piece of fantasy. I would have no qualms about buying this or, (hopefully) the next 2 instalments.
I think it is possibly a bit unfair to judge the film according to what isin the book. I think the purists will probably have pre-judged & dismissed the film anyway. Perhaps I have an advantage herein not actually being influenced by the book.
I think artistic licence is inevitable. I have actually read Lord of the Rings. Obviously, Peter Jackson used a bit of licence but, I honestly do not believe the films suffered for it.All the esentials were there. He had to draw a line somewhere! I think the director of this film has had to do the same.
Forgetting the book.. - By: S. Jones, 05 Jun 2008 Many people have awarded this film with the 1-3 star rating, & after reading many of them have noticed one thingin common, they rely greatly upon the book to support their views. Now it is well known that many people do not readin England & so the audience that actually have read this book must be considerably smaller than that of whom went to see it or rented or purchased it! So why do we need to keep bringing the book into this? To most the book is completely irrelevantin context to the film, so i am writing this review for those who care about the film not the darn book!
Ok so too begin, the acting, well it is not a superb performance by all but there is some very strong & believable actingin this film, the main characters are engaging & very persuasive, if you haven't read the book you will not have preset picturein your mind of what YOU expect them to be like.
Ok so the graphics, well what can i say, they are truly magnificent, what more could you want, it was simple stunning, done to perfection i must say! If you like enhanced graphics then this is the film for you, it is so good the places could be real, as could the talking animals, i have to applaud them for this.
The storyline is also good,in parts the dialoge is a bit bland & often very descriptive giving irrelevant & obvious details, but apart from that the storyline is good & believable which makes it a much better film, i find many lackin a decent storyline but here it is definitely one of it's strong points!
So what else is there to say? Well to all those who have not read the book or have read the book & want to know what sort of FILM it is, it is very good, action packed & a great film for not only the family but also for anyone else looking for an epic night in. So please ignore the trash that fills these reviews, because when it all comes down to it, this is a film not a book, so please stop rating the film by the book & try & be more open minded!
Thank you for reading.
